Down! Set! LSAT Logical Fallacies at the Super Bowl! Hike!

Super Bowl XLVI, also known as “Super Bowl Extra Large Six,” is a mere three days away. You have exactly that much time to fly to Las Vegas and lay down your savings on the Giants, the Patriots, the over, the under, or whether or not Madonna kisses Gisele Bündchen during the halftime show.

By this time next week, the big game will be a thing of the past and the February LSAT will once again engulf your concentration. But there’s no reason we can’t tie the two subjects together.

So throw on your jersey, huddle around, and read these five Super Bowl-themed logical fallacies.

HUT! HUT! HIKE!

SUPER BOWL EXTRA LARGE SIX FALLACY I: THE REMATCH

For those who don’t know, Sunday’s game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots has quite a backstory. Way back on February 3, 2008, the G Men were double-digit underdogs but somehow upset the previously undefeated Pats 17-14. Some people say that if the Giants could beat the Patriots when New England was 18-0 and breaking all kinds of league records, then the Giants shouldn’t have a problem repeating in 2012. Others say the Patriots have the edge this time around because of the revenge factor.

Well, they’re both wrong. That’s a textbook temporal fallacy. Simply because something happened in the past doesn’t mean it will happen again in the future or that it won’t happen again. Keep this fallacy in mind when at the roulette wheel after you lose $100 incorrectly guessing the coin toss.

SUPER BOWL EXTRA LARGE SIX FALLACY II: THE HEARTTHROB

Aside from Jets fans, who doesn’t like Tom Brady, right? Mr. Uggs has three Super Bowl rings and is by far the Patriots’ most esteemed player. This has led many people to make the case that because New England has one of the best players in NFL history, they’re the best team on Sunday.

Uh, composition fallacy much? Have you seen the Pats’ secondary?

SUPER BOWL EXTRA LARGE SIX FALLACY III: THE BROTHER

Eli Manning, on the other hand, has only one Super Bowl ring and by all appearances has the IQ of a basset hound. There’s no way he can be a smart quarterback, right?

Wrong. That thought has about as much a chance of being logical as David Tyree has of getting on the cover of Madden. As much fun as it is calling Eli a buffoon, it’s nothing more than a good old-fashioned attacking the person fallacy.

SUPER BOWL EXTRA LARGE SIX FALLACY IV: THE BEST OF THE BEST

There’s always controversy in college football because they’re not into the whole playoff thing. But in the NFL, you get the eight best teams, put ‘em in a bracket, and whichever two teams reach the Super Bowl are deemed the two best in the league, and the winner, therefore, has to be the best team of the season.

(Cue the Family Feud “Not even close” buzzer and large red X.)

Survey says that’s an exclusivity fallacy.

SUPER BOWL EXTRA LARGE SIX FALLACY V: THE CALORIES

The Super Bowl is the Super Bowl of noshing. This leads many people to think, Come on, New Year’s resolutions. It’s the Super Bowl! Calories don’t count during the Super Bowl!

Ah, but they do — as you’ll discover Monday morning when you step on the scale.

By the way, this fallacy isn’t covered in our LSAT prep. It’s nonsense. Just like 99% of the Super Bowl commercials are going to be.